Plan B - iLL Manors
The UK's fondness of one solo male musician per year has boomed in the 21st century. James Morrison, James Blunt, Will Young and, in 2011, Ed Sheeran have all enjoyed buoyant rises to fame off the back of thoroughly mediocre albums piqued with one (or two) hit songs. Plan B, in 2010, did much the same thing with his sophomore The Defamation of Strickland Banks , although he'd featured on modest successes such as Chase & Status' End Credits already by that point. His album however was a major step away from his early hip hop/R&B roots, welcoming all forms of jazz, soul and even some big band elements. To me, however, the hype was lost. That's due in part, of course, to the UK media's frustrating zeal in thrusting every single new sensation into every aspect of your life until you're aware of who they are (adverts, awards shows, chat shows, magazines, about 30+ weeks on the increasingly-predictable album charts). The songs were certainly fine enough ...